Pew finds Latinos aren’t so sure about going to polls

Registered Latino voters aren’t as sure they’ll head to the polls this year as they were in 2012, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.

The report released Tuesday found that 69 percent of registered Latinos said they were “absolutely certain” they would cast a ballot in this election, compared to 77 percent in 2012.

Even if registered Latino voters aren’t as sure they will cast ballots, however, more Latinos are likely to vote on Election Day than ever before because of the growth in demographics and the sheer number of Latino voters.

{mosads}“The number of Hispanic registered voters and the number of Hispanic voters is likely to reach new records in 2016, just as it has in every previous presidential election cycle for the past three decades,” the Pew report said.

Democrats and Latino activists have focused on getting more Latinos registered to vote in this election.

While as many as 80 percent of registered Latinos voted in recent cycles, the bloc’s overall voting rate hung closer to 40 percent.

With higher registration numbers, more Latino voters could come to the polls.

The Pew survey found that dislike of major-party candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is the biggest factor in keeping Latinos away from the polls in this election. 

Latino voters have traditionally been concentrated in solid-blue or solid-red states like California and Texas, where general election voting tends to wane because results are all but certain. But the survey found that only 22 percent of Latinos not voting said they were not interested in the election or felt their vote would not make a difference, while 33 percent cited dislike of the candidates as their reason to stay away from the polls.

Those who will be voting overwhelmingly backed Clinton, the Democratic nominee, over Trump, the GOP nominee, 58 percent to 19 percent. 

Millennial Latinos, the largest and fastest-growing group within the bloc, were more likely to back Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson or Green Party nominee Jill Stein. Johnson and Stein both got 13 percent support from millennials.

Clinton’s support among millennials was 48 percent, compared to 66 percent among non-millennials, while Trump’s was 15 percent, compared to 21 percent among older voters.

Trump led Clinton in only one category of Latino registered voters: those who identify as Republicans, 69 percent to 11 percent. 

Latinos who identify as Democrats or lean Democratic were far more likely to support Clinton, with 83 percent in favor and only 2 percent against.

The survey found that 44 percent of registered Hispanics who said they would vote for Clinton were primarily voting against Trump. Among millennials, that number jumped to 64 percent.

Spanish-dominant Latino voters were the most supportive of Clinton, with 67 percent saying they would vote for her, rather than against Trump.

Latinos overall said they felt more support from the Democratic Party than the Republican Party, 54 percent to 11 percent.

Sixty-four percent of Latinos identify as Democrats, while only 24 percent identify as Republicans.

The survey found that 83 percent of Latinos think education is a “very important” issue to determine their vote in 2016, and 80 percent cited the economy. 

Immigration was in fifth place among important electoral issues, with 70 percent of respondents calling it “very important,” followed closely by “how Latinos are treated” with 69 percent.